What is the principle of refactoring?

• A. Each change made is tested immediately to verify the correct accomplishment of the desired goal
• B. Changes are deployed weekly without tests
• C. Testing is optional
• D. Changes must be approved by governance first

Answer: (A)

Refactoring means improving the internal structure of code without changing what it does for users. The practice is to apply small, incremental changes and verify each one by running tests right away. Testing immediately after each change helps catch unintended side effects and regressions early, ensuring the change actually preserves behavior while making the code easier to maintain. In a SAFe environment, this is supported by automated unit and integration tests and continuous integration, so you get fast feedback on every small refactor.

The other options describe practices that would undermine safe refactoring: deploying without tests, treating testing as optional, or requiring governance approval before making changes, none of which guarantees that the change preserves behavior or verifies the intended improvement.